There are many small ponds and lakes at Cape Evans, similar to Cape Royds . After a quick survey of the ponds, we concentrated on five ponds for sampling. We sampled for morphological, DNA- and RNA-based analysis of the cyanobacterial diversity, as well as nutrient analysis of the water.

In one pond we found a pink coloured layer at the bottom of the mats, which is due to the presence of purple bacteria thatare anoxygenic phototrophs.

Today, we went to Cape Evans, where the famous hut from the Terra Nova Expedition is located. The helicopter flight took 20 minutes and it was spectacular with great views over the the McMurdo Ice Shelf and sea ice. A group of conservators from the Antarctic Heritage Trust has been spending the whole summer here to work on the famous hut. They have a cosy camp with a communal kitchen and dining hut and several polar tents. Actually, these kind of tents were also used by Scott and their design has only little changed since then. They are can withstand stronger winds than mountain tents. From our lunch break we had a great view on Scott’s hut . After we were done with our sample collection the conservators from AHT showed us the hut.

I'm Anne Jungblut from the Botany Department. Join me as I head to Antarctica to study cyanobacterial diversity in ice-covered lakes of the Dry Valleys and Ross Island where already scientists on Scott's and Shakleton's expeditions made many discoveries.